Pioneering Robotic Liver Surgery in Germany: First Experiences with Liver Malignancies

Background Minimally invasive liver surgery is growing worldwide with obvious benefits for the treated patients. These procedures maybe improved by robotic techniques, which add several innovative features. In Germany, we were the first surgical department implementing robotic assisted minimally invasive liver resections. Material and methods Between June 2013 and March 2015, we performed robotic based minimally invasive liver resections in nine patients with malignant liver disease. Five off these patients suffered from primary and four from secondary liver malignancies. We retrospectively analyzed the perioperative variables of these patients and the oncological follow up. Results Mean age of the patients was 63 years (range 45–71). One patient suffered from intrahepatic cholangiocellular, four from hepatocellular carcinoma, and four patients from colorectal liver metastases. In six patients, left lateral liver resection, in two cases single segment resection, and in one case minimally invasive guided liver ablation were performed. Five patients underwent previous abdominal surgery. Mean operation time was 312 min (range 115–458 min). Mean weight of the liver specimens was 182 g (range 62–260 g) and mean estimated blood loss was 251 ml (range 10–650 ml). The mean tumor size was 4.4 cm (range 3.5–5.5 cm). In all cases, R0 status was confirmed with a mean margin of 0.6 cm (range 0.1–1.5 cm). One patient developed small bowel fistula on postoperative day 5, which could be treated conservatively. No patient died. Mean hospital stay of the patients was 6 days (range 3–10 days). During a mean follow up of 12 months (range 1–21 months), two patients developed tumor recurrence. Conclusion Robotic-based liver surgery is feasible in patients with primary and secondary liver malignancies. To achieve perioperative parameters comparable to open settings, the learning curve must be passed. Minor liver resections are good candidates to start this technique. But the huge benefits of robotic-based liver resections should be expected in extended procedures beyond minor liver resections with the currently available technology

One Step Nucleic Acid Amplification (OSNA) - a new method for lymph node staging in colorectal carcinomas

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Accurate histopathological evaluation of resected lymph nodes (LN) is essential for the reliable staging of colorectal carcinomas (CRC). With conventional sectioning and staining techniques usually only parts of the LN are examined which might lead to incorrect tumor staging. A molecular method called OSNA (One Step Nucleic Acid Amplification) may be suitable to determine the metastatic status of the complete LN and therefore improve staging.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>OSNA is based on a short homogenisation step and subsequent automated amplification of cytokeratin 19 (CK19) mRNA directly from the sample lysate, with result available in 30-40 minutes. In this study 184 frozen LN from 184 patients with CRC were investigated by both OSNA and histology (Haematoxylin & Eosin staining and CK19 immunohistochemistry), with half of the LN used for each method. Samples with discordant results were further analysed by RT-PCR for CK19 and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The concordance rate between histology and OSNA was 95.7%. Three LN were histology+/OSNA- and 5 LN histology-/OSNA+. RT-PCR supported the OSNA result in 3 discordant cases, suggesting that metastases were exclusively located in either the tissue analysed by OSNA or the tissue used for histology. If these samples were excluded the concordance was 97.2%, the sensitivity 94.9%, and the specificity 97.9%. Three patients (3%) staged as UICC I or II by routine histopathology were upstaged as LN positive by OSNA. One of these patients developed distant metastases (DMS) during follow up.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>OSNA is a new and reliable method for molecular staging of lymphatic metastases in CRC and enables the examination of whole LN. It can be applied as a rapid diagnostic tool to estimate tumour involvement in LN during the staging of CRC.</p

Post-Operative Functional Outcomes in Early Age Onset Rectal Cancer

Background: Impairment of bowel, urogenital and fertility-related function in patients treated for rectal cancer is common. While the rate of rectal cancer in the young (&lt;50 years) is rising, there is little data on functional outcomes in this group. Methods: The REACCT international collaborative database was reviewed and data on eligible patients analysed. Inclusion criteria comprised patients with a histologically confirmed rectal cancer, &lt;50 years of age at time of diagnosis and with documented follow-up including functional outcomes. Results: A total of 1428 (n=1428) patients met the eligibility criteria and were included in the final analysis. Metastatic disease was present at diagnosis in 13%. Of these, 40% received neoadjuvant therapy and 50% adjuvant chemotherapy. The incidence of post-operative major morbidity was 10%. A defunctioning stoma was placed for 621 patients (43%); 534 of these proceeded to elective restoration of bowel continuity. The median follow-up time was 42 months. Of this cohort, a total of 415 (29%) reported persistent impairment of functional outcomes, the most frequent of which was bowel dysfunction (16%), followed by bladder dysfunction (7%), sexual dysfunction (4.5%) and infertility (1%). Conclusion: A substantial proportion of patients with early-onset rectal cancer who undergo surgery report persistent impairment of functional status. Patients should be involved in the discussion regarding their treatment options and potential impact on quality of life. Functional outcomes should be routinely recorded as part of follow up alongside oncological parameters